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Happy New Year! New Year’s Resolutions for Kids and Families

Happy New Year from our family to yours!

Use this post to share the idea of New Year’s Resolutions with your whole family. It is useful for families with children of all ages. You will also find a link to a printable worksheet to use for family discussion and for each person to fill out. At the end of the year you can look back and see what you’ve accomplished! I hope this blesses your family for the whole year!

all scripture quoted is from the International Children’s Bible

The New Year

The new year is often a time when people think about new things, especially making themselves a new person.

We know that only God can truly make us a new person any time of year when we repent of our old lives and put on Jesus as our savior. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says “If anyone belongs to Christ, then he is made new. The old things have gone; everything is made new!”

The start of a new year often prompts people to make New Year’s resolutions. A resolution is a kind of promise or informal vow we make to ourselves to help us improve or be a better person in some way.

Kids can make New Year’s Resolutions too! It can be fun to do and at the end of the year you can look back and see all that you have accomplished.

Making Resolutions That Work

Some resolutions are better than others. The best ones are specific. Too many people say something vague like wanting to be nicer, or to exercise more, or to be a better Christian. Those resolutions are too general. We need to word our resolution to say exactly what we are going to do.

Instead of saying we will be nicer we can say we will remember to say “please” and “thank you” and to follow the Golden Rule (Luke 6:31 Do for other people what you want them to do for you.)

Instead of saying we won’t be messy we can say we will make the bed every morning and put our dirty clothes in the hamper every night.

If you want to improve a skill you already have, like playing the piano or running track, then set specific goals for practice time, difficult pieces you want to learn, or time goals you will work toward.

The more specific you make your resolution the more likely you are to stick with it.

Resolution Ideas for All Ages

Here are some ideas if you are having trouble coming up with your own resolutions. Encourage everyone to come up with at least one. Don’t make it too hard by making too many at one time.

Print off this page year-in-review-2016 and let each child fill one out. Keep the pages and look at them at the end of the year to see how you have grown and what you have accomplished. These pages can make fun keepsakes to look at from year to year.

Make a resolution to be healthier. Decide to try new foods by resolving to have one new fruit and one new vegetable every month. Decide to exercise, walk the dog, ride bikes or play outside instead of watching TV or playing video games. Decide to stop drinking sodas and instead drink more milk or water. Decide to go to bed by 10pm so you can get plenty of healthy sleep.

I think the #1 way to be healthier is to cook your own food instead of eating out or eating packaged processed foods. If you don’t know how to cook, now is the time to learn! Scroll down and print this simple recipe for homemade pancakes easy enough for even a kindergartner to do with some help from mom or dad.

Make a resolution to be smarter. Decide to read a book instead of watching TV or playing video games. Learn to do something new like build a birdhouse, learn a foreign language, learn to crochet or sew, take painting classes, or learn a musical instrument.

Make a resolution to share God’s love. Decide to memorize a new Bible verse every week, or read our Bibles every day. (These are short and sweet for little kids and include a coloring page for each verse.) This can be a family project where everyone encourages each other. Post verses on the refrigerator and take turns reciting them. Decide to pick someone each week to reach out to with a handwritten card or letter, or homemade cookies.

Make resolutions as a family. Decide to do things together that will help you love each other and have fun together. Spend time this month thinking back on the year that has passed and remembering a way you have been blessed, something you are thankful for. Then pray togetheras a family thanking God for all He has done!

Decide to go on a hike or visit a park together once a month. Decide to have a Family Game Night once a month. Our family enjoys getting together with two other families each month for a potluck dinner and games. We look forward to this fun time of fellowship every month!

Decide to have a family read-aloud time where a parent or older teen reads aloud from a family-friendly book. Educator and speaker Andrew Pudewa shares his thoughts on why this is important for kids of all ages here.

Cooking together is a great family activity! Empowering your kids with cooking skills blesses them for life. Here is an easy recipe for homemade pancakes. Make these together on a lazy winter weekend and then curl up for family read aloud time.

2. In a large bowl, stir together the dry ingredients, flour, baking powder and salt.

3. In a separate bowl beat the eggs with a fork until lemon colored, then add in the milk, honey and melted butter or oil.

4. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until moistened. You want the batter to be a little runny, not thick, so add a little more milk if needed.

5. Scoop batter onto a preheated griddle using a large spoon to make individual pancakes. Bake until bubbles appear on the top then flip and bake on the other side until golden. Serve with butter and honey or real maple syrup.

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